Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for the backstory, there's got to be more than what meets the eye here and I usually spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to get to the bottom of things. I think I'm usually 75% right about the "more than meets the eye thing", though - more like "better than it appears", really. So, with this fascination for the backstory I'm always a fan of blogs that let me peek into a creative's work space, seeing how their process is manifested and what they surround themselves with to keep them consistently inspired. I'll be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about a neat and tidy office or studio, I adhere to the messier it is the more creativity is being channeled. Although props for serious organization with buckets and bins and color coded this and that....

via handmade charlotte

My friend recently introduced me to the site work.place, which serves as a photographic documentary of sorts - focusing on artists, musicians, designers and craftspeople working in Portland. A stand out studio belongs to Kate Bingaman-Burt, which you may remember being a panelist in the Designing Woman event at PNCA. Knowing her illustrations and graphic style - it's no wonder her space is a color bomb that doesn't stop! This site is chock full of wonderful photographs and fabulous stories around the process of creating.

via work.placeSeveral other sites offer office and studio tours which are very helpful when researching for design or programming ideas. What's trending in lobby desks, conference rooms or breakout spaces? The site Office Snapshots has a long list of spaces catalogued based on industry type. If you were ever curious at the stylistic difference between a top notch lawyers office in Tel Aviv compared to Google's new offices in Tokyo, this is your go to site.

via office snapshotShowcasing creatives is Etsy's main focus, and their blog features informative studio tours as well as interviews. The interviews are all based on a series of the same questions: such as does your studio reflect your personality, what inspires you in your studio, what prompted you to find a studio, or how often do you clean it? This is priceless information for those looking to move their business out of their home office and benefiting from real world advice.

via Etsyvia EtsyThe site with the most interesting backstory (of it's founder Todd Selby) has got to be the photography site, The Selby. Todd Selby has collaborated with creative companies, artists, designers from all over the world but started with a myriad of random jobs and totally lucked into the photography gig, at least that's what I get from his bio page. Regardless, the site doesn't get 100,000 views per day for nothing - The Selby immerses itself in the daily life of creatives and delivers a montage of what makes each of these people unique. It may be that this is the reality that the person being photographed wants to create, wants you to believe - who knows, but it makes for pretty pictures nonetheless ....

I'm an architect & writer based in Portland, Oregon. I'm passionate about broadcasting the value of design and established Y/Wd in 2012 as a design resource with a mission to connect, create & communicate.